SPY'S DARING COUP.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3145, 27 November 1922, Page 7

SPY'S DARING COUP.

News comes from Belfast of. the daring theft of many of the Ulster State documents. It is certainly the greatest toup ever made by Sinn Fein, and the spy implicated had made good his escape. The papers taken include some highly important memoranda by the late Field-Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, with his suggestion for dealing with the defence of Ulster and attacks on its. border.

The spy worked with the utmost caution. For two years he wormed his way into the confidence of his superiors at the northern police headquarters. His parents live in Belfast, and he- is a Roman Catholic. Although an unknown civilian, he was able to obtain an appointment as clerk in an office where many secret papers are kept. The Sinn Fein emissary first of all secured a post in the Military Adviser's Office in Victoria Barracks, where he obtained first-hand information of the movement of troops and all proposed raids on Sinn Fein.

The spy played to perfection his part as a harmless clerk. His superiors soon came to regard him as a most discreet servant. He apparently took not the slightest interest in the conversations that went on around him, and professed himself disinterested in the matters discussed by the Secret Service men who were constantly in and out of the office. When General Solly Flood was appointed Chief of the Ulster Forces a. special Secret Service Department was set up. There was difficulty in securing a staff, and, believing that the spy was a. reliable man, thje authorities transferred him to General Flood's office. It was just what the man wanted. Sir Henry Wilson's plans and various police files were- kept in the office, and the "confidential clerk" had access to them. When all arrangements were complete, the spy, who had, also been sworn in as an Ulster "special," asked for a day's leave, which was granted. He immediately bolted with the plans, leaving by steamer for England. There was some comment when ho did not turn up after his leave, and later it was discovered that all the plans had vanished.